With Yoenis Cespedes becoming a Met last year, we have become more familiar with the strife that that people have faced in their home country. We hear about how people were either denied their basic freedoms or how they had to deal with war-torn streets with mobs, guerilla warfare, and/or terrorist attacks.  After dealing with the strife related to these events, families seek to emigrate to the United States in search of a better life for themselves and their children.

That is the unlikely beginning of how P.J. Conlon became a member of the New York Mets organization.

Back in 1993, when Conlon was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, it was the height of The Troubles ethno-nationalist conflict over whether Northern Ireland belonged to the United Kingdom of the Republic of Ireland.  A major city like Belfast was a location of much of the civil unrest and warfare in this decades long conflict.  The Conlon family hoping for a better and safer life for their son, left Northern Ireland to California.  Safely in California, their son, P.J., was able to life out the American Dream.  And as we know, there is nothing more American than baseball.

Undrafted out of high school, Conlon would attend the University of San Diego.  After leading the University of San Diego to the West Coast Conference Championship in his Junior season, Colon would find himself as the Mets 2015 13th Round draft pick. It is not that surprising Conlon went that low in the draft.

Conlon is a four pitch control pitcher that mainly throws fastballs and changeups. He throws in the upper 80s and tops off around 92 MPH. Conlon’s main selling point is his control, and he throws nothing straight. It’s why he succeeded in college, and it is why he would impress in his 17 relief appearances for the Brooklyn Cyclones. Despite his maturity as a pitcher and his success in Brooklyn, nothing could prepare us for what Conlon would have in store for 2016.

Due to his success in Brooklyn, Conlon would begin the 2016 season with the Full Season A Columbia Fireflies. He was close to unhittable in his 11 starts and one relief appearance down there. In total, Conlon would pitch 63.2 innings going 4-1 with a 1.41 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and a 3.64 K/BB ratio.

Conlon would be named the Sally League June 5, 2016 Pitcher of the Week as well as a Mid-Season All Star.  With his mastery of the Sally League, the Mets were all but forced to promote him to High A St. Lucie.

At St. Lucie, we saw more of the same from Conlon. In 12 starts, Colon pitched 78.1 innings going 8-1 with a 1.84 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and a 6.10 K/BB ratio.

Overall, Conlon made 24 starts and one relief appearance pitching 142.0 innings. Colon would finish the year with a 12-2 record with a 1.65 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and a 4.67 K/BB ratio. Conlon’s combined 1.65 ERA was the best ERA at any level of professional baseball for qualified starters. In the Mets minor league system, Conlon would finish first in WHIP and K/BB ratio.  He would also finish second in wins.

In his brief minor league career, Conlon has taken advantage of both the inexperience hitters and every opportunity the Mets have given him. More importantly, Conlon has taken advantage of every opportunity afforded him by his parents leaving a dangerous city to come to America.  There is no doubt there is more in store for Conlon in the oncoming years.  There is also no doubt that he was the best pitcher in the Mets organization this year.

Honorable Mentions

In addition to Conlon, there were two other Mets minor league pitchers who had outstanding seasons.  These two pitchers would have been the Mets minor league pitcher of the year in almost any other year.

The first is Thomas Szapucki, who dominated two levels of the minor leagues this season. In five starts for the Rookie League Kingsport Mets, he was 2-1 with a 0.62 ERA and 0.86 ERA while striking out a whopping 14.6 batters per nine innings. He was promoted to Brooklyn where he went 2-2 with a 2.35 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP in four starts.

He continued to strike out batters at an exceptional rate striking out 15.3 batters per nine innings in the New York Penn League.  Overall, Szapucki made nine starts between both levels going 4-3 with a 1.38 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, and a 14.9 K/9.

The second pitcher who deserves mention is Szapucki’s Brooklyn Cyclones teammate Harol Gonzalez, who was perhaps the most dominating pitcher in the New York Penn League. In 13 starts and one relief appearance, Gonzalez was 7-3 with a 2.01 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in 13 starts and one relief appearance.  Gonzalez led the league in ERA and strikeouts (88).  He also ranked third in wins, second in inning pitched (85.0), and tied for second in WHIP.

Overall, in a year that the Mets saw major and unlikely contributions from Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman, it is good to know the Mets farm system is still stocked with tremendous starting pitching prospects who are really learning their craft and dominating multiple levels of the minor leagues.

Previous MMN Season Awards: Player of the Year, Reliever of the Year, Breakout Player, Defensive Player, Rookie of the Year.